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Sun, 02 Aug 2015 20:37:19 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/http://1.gravatar.com/blavatar/bf69214e83fdd5520e4b5d91ba3b7d64?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png » Niagara Fallshttp://news.nationalpost.com
Could this be the best and weirdest Canadian political video of the year?http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/ron-planche-video-what-is-even-going-on-here
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/ron-planche-video-what-is-even-going-on-here#commentsThu, 02 Jul 2015 19:28:02 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=814432

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6ILid5z6Vc&w=640&h=390]

Good video editing is usually so subtle you barely notice it. Not so in the case of Ron Planche, the Liberal Party candidate in Niagara Falls, Ont.

Planche just clinched the nomination in his riding this week and will take on Foreign Minister Rob Nicholson on Oct. 19. But when he was still asking his fellow Liberals for their support, he released the most bizarre political pitch you are likely to see this election year.

Planche’s one-minute video — first noticed by Vice’s Justin Ling — has him making his case for why he’s the right man to carry the Liberal banner, although the swelling “inspiration” music in the background makes it hard to pay attention. There are also so many strange and sudden cuts that the whole video seems like a draft version that accidentally got published online.

Why, for example, are we given such a close (but blurry) look at the candidate’s forehead? Do we really need three different angles? And why is the main camera bouncing?

Whatever the directorial vision for this might have been, it’s definitely memorable — charming, even. One can only hope there are more such strange and beautiful creations to come this election.

UPDATE: Nathan Chamberland, who directed and scored this masterpiece, has responded in the comments below:

I was going for artsy and different with this one, while Ron stayed true and honest in his speech delivery. I’ve never made a video like that one, but I guess its turning heads if it made the National Post. I for one fully support Ron on his bid for MP – he’s as honest as I am weird and artsy. ;-)

UPDATE II: The fine folks over at The Syrup Trap, the Canadian humour site, have put their own spin on the “Ron Planche for Niagara” video. It’s embedded below:

The U.S. government is defending itself against a Chinese tourist’s $10 million injury claim with the testimony of a surprising witness: a border agent the government initially fired and charged criminally in the case.

Customs and Border Protection employee Robert Rhodes, who was cleared of wrongdoing and reinstated, said he jumped at the chance to testify in the lawsuit filed by Zhao Yan, even though the U.S. government’s prosecution of him left him bankrupt.

“I wanted the truth out,” Rhodes told The Associated Press during an interview in his attorney’s office, while Zhao’s claim was being heard by a federal court.

Rhodes was charged in July 2004 with violating Zhao’s civil rights following a confrontation at a U.S.-Canadian border inspection station in Niagara Falls, where he was stationed.

U.S. authorities say Zhao’s injuries were her own fault because she ran from the officer and then kicked, punched and scratched him before two other officers arrived and helped restrain her on the ground

At the time, prosecutors said the 17-year veteran officer used excessive force when he used pepper-spray on Zhao, put his knee on her back and pressed her head into the pavement. She and two other women had run from the inspection station instead of obeying officers’ orders to come inside after they detained a drug suspect they thought may have been with them.

U.S. authorities still maintain that Rhodes “did strike and hit Zhao with his knee and forcibly drive her head into contact with the pavement, resulting in bodily injury” to the 38-year-old woman, according to court documents. But now they say Rhodes did not use more force than was necessary and that Zhao’s injuries were her own fault because she ran from the officer and then kicked, punched and scratched him before two other officers arrived and helped restrain her on the ground.

The case immediately provoked anger in China after pictures of the businesswoman, her face swollen from pepper spray and her eyes and forehead bruised, were widely published

“In this action, the question of whether Zhao bears responsibility for the confrontation with Rhodes is a critical issue,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Roach wrote in a court filing.

U.S. Attorney William Hochul, who did not head the office when Rhodes was charged, declined to comment, a spokeswoman said, because the trial is ongoing.

Zhao was never charged in the case and sued the U.S. soon after the incident. The case immediately provoked anger in China after pictures of the businesswoman, her face swollen from pepper spray and her eyes and forehead bruised, were widely published.

Rhodes and his attorney, Steven Cohen, have long believed the U.S. was pressured by China to prosecute and that Rhodes was an easy target because he was openly gay and had complained about discrimination on the job.

“If they really believed that Rob acted inappropriately in July 2004, then they should have said to Zhao Yan, ‘OK, let’s pay you for the injuries you sustained and be done with it,’” Cohen said.

“For the U.S. attorney to vigorously defend that now and say, ‘No, Zhao Yan was in the wrong and the government was in the right,’ is at the very least hypocritical.”

Zhao contends she suffered “great humiliation and ridicule and was injured in her credit and reputation” and that she “sustained severe, permanent and painful injuries, internal as well as external” at the hands of Rhodes and the two other agents.

Following unsuccessful mediation attempts, U.S. Judge Elizabeth Wolford began trying the case without a jury on May 11. The trial continues Monday.

Zhao’s attorneys from the Paul William Beltz firm did not respond to several telephone and email requests for comment.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/u-s-government-in-court-fighting-10m-suit-by-chinese-woman-who-says-border-officer-attacked-her-at-niagara-falls-crossing/feed0stdNIAGARaSections of Niagara Falls — and the trees around it — are encased in ice right nowhttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/niagara-falls-froze
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/niagara-falls-froze#commentsFri, 20 Feb 2015 17:24:37 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=703287

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The winter’s deep freeze has transformed Niagara Falls into an icy spectacle, encasing the trees around it into crystal shells and drawing tourists.

The Niagara River keeps flowing below the ice cover, so the falls aren’t completely frozen over. But the massive ice buildup near the brink has become a tourist magnet for the second straight year after several relatively mild winters.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettMasses of ice formed in the lower Niagara River and around the American Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., Thursday.

Visitors have been flocking to Niagara Falls State Park, next to the American Falls, one of three waterfalls that make up the natural attraction. The cold has created a thick coating of ice and snow on every surface near the falls, including railings, trees and boulders.

According to the Weather Network, it’s expected to warm up to -2 C over the weekend before dropping to -20 C on Monday.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettNiagara Falls on Thursday.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettNiagara Falls State Park visitors in Niagara Falls, Ont., Thursday.

HE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettA photographer capturing the scene.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettPieces of ice flow over the horseshoe on the Canadian side of the falls Thursday.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Lynett

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Lynett

The Canadian Press,Aaron Lynett

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/niagara-falls-froze/feed2]]>gallery THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettHE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettTHE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron LynettThe Canadian Press,Aaron LynettWatch this chill dude become the first person to climb a frozen Niagara Fallshttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/watch-this-chill-dude-become-the-first-person-to-climb-a-frozen-niagara-falls
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/watch-this-chill-dude-become-the-first-person-to-climb-a-frozen-niagara-falls#commentsFri, 30 Jan 2015 17:00:14 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=689220

Some people prefer to spend winter huddled indoors, waiting for spring to free them from the icy confines of the season’s grasp.

Others ski, or skate. This guy climbs Niagara Falls. Seriously.

Grab a scarf before you watch this latest stunt sponsored by Red Bull, because you might catch cold just taking in the insanity.

So who is this epic climber? Will Gadd, a Nat Geo Adventurer of the Year and one of Red Bull’s roster of extreme sportsmen.

Turns out, he’s now a history-maker too. Gadd is officially the first person to climb up Niagara Falls after his ascent Tuesday this week. And, he chose the superior, horse-shoe side of the falls that Canada claims as its own, though we technically share it with the U.S.

His route essentially followed the U.S.-Canadian border, which Red Bull calls “fitting” given that Gadd is a dual citizen of both countries.

According to Red Bull, there were two priorities for the stunt: safety and ensuring they didn’t damage or exacerbate the erosion plaguing the global landmark.

“It’s one of the most visited places in North America,” Gadd said in a statement. “We have to treat it as a jewel, or it won’t work.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU5i1WjRBhE&w=620&h=349]

About 20 million people a year visit the falls, from either the American or Canadian side.

The climb was just under 45 metres (147 feet) but it was under very tough conditions. Red Bull states, “With 150,000 tons of water flowing over the crest every minute at speeds of nearly 62 mph, the water impact is equivalent to roughly 4,000 eighteen-wheel trucks hitting the ground at the same time.”

“The massive water flow constantly shakes the ground, and makes the ice shelves and walls around you unsteady and unpredictable,” Gadd said. “It’s a harsh environment and an intense challenge to stay attached to the wall, let alone climb it.”

Three times, in fact. Each one took about an hour.

But even though he conquered the iconic falls, Gadd said he lost the war after winning the battle: “That climb beat me up. I may have reached the top, but Niagara won the war. At the end of the day I was hypothermic. That waterfall did a lot more damage to me than I did to it!”

Oenophiles will have another way to celebrate their favourite beverage in the new year with the inaugural Niagara Icewine Festival events in Niagara Falls, Ont. A three-day event is being held at the Scotiabank Convention Centre from Jan. 23 to 25.

The event is a new addition this year to the month-long Niagara Icewine Festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this January. A weekend-long festival within a festival, the three-day convention centre gathering will feature food, live entertainment, and of course, wine. More than 15 of Niagara’s wineries will be featuring their tipples in any and all different varieties, and 12 of the Niagara Region’s top restaurants and chefs will provide the food.

The event, which takes place both indoors and outdoors, embraces the cold Canadian winter with features like ice sculptures, fire pits, and icewine marshmallows.

Icewine is made with grapes that have been frozen naturally while still on the vine. The dessert wine has been made in Ontario since 1984, and Niagara is internationally known to have some of the best icewines in the world. Southern Ontario’s warm summers and cold — but not too cold — winters make the perfect climate conditions for icewine-making.

The larger Niagara Region-wide festival kicks off January 9, with events and special programs at wineries, restaurants and other locations throughout the month of January, including the “Discovery Pass” of previous years that visitors to the area can use to check out more than 30 vintners.

—Tickets for the Niagara Falls event are $10 if bought in advance and $15 at the door. A full list of the month-long Niagara Icewine Festival events can be found here.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Authorities say two boaters were about three kilometres from the brink of Niagara Falls when they were rescued from their disabled vessel by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.

Coast Guard officials say their Buffalo station received a call around 9:15 p.m. Monday reporting a 19-foot motor boat with two men aboard was anchored in the Niagara River about 600 metres inside the four kilometre exclusion zone from the falls.

A crew from the Coast Guard air station in Detroit was dispatched to the scene, along with a Coast Guard vessel from Buffalo and boat crews from state and local police.

The river’s shallow depth prevented the vessels from reaching the anchored boat. A Coast Guard helicopter rescued the two boaters shortly before midnight.

The boat remains on the river. The owner is arranging salvage with a commercial service company.

AP Photo/Gary WiepertThe Canadian side of the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls are illuminated in blue to celebrate the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's son, Monday, July 22, 2013, in Niagara Falls, Canada.

“These allegations include: accepting gifts, hospitality and other benefits; acceptances of travel offer from a third party and misuse of government electronic networks; abuse of authority; and, engaging in preferential treatment,” the CBSA wrote.

The CBSA said the internal investigation is not yet complete and they are not yet ready to discuss the accused or the possibility of police involvement. They would also not confirm or deny Justin Bieber’s involvement.

“For reasons of privacy, we cannot comment on individual cases,” they wrote.

The timing of this incident is also unclear. But the CBSA distributed a notice to guards in Southern Ontario on Aug. 12 warning them that accepting bribes will not be tolerated. It also encouraged officers to turn informant on one another if they observed this behaviour. The full text of that email is here.

Antony Niro, an engineer from Vaughan, Ont., was so incensed by the gas plant scandal he asked the Bank of Canada if he could print fake bills and tour them around Ontario to show people what $1-billion looks like when stacked.

On the eve of the provincial election, he has brought his billion dollars to the site of the planned gas plant in Mississauga, a plot of land wedged between a hydro corridor and an industrial estate with not a house in sight.

He’s standing in front of five six foot high piles of fake $100 bills, as heavy machinery works behind him, demolishing the remnants of the plant that was under construction when the Liberal government decided mid-campaign in 2011 that cancelling the project would save the skins of two of their local MPPs.

Mr. Niro says when he started touring with his stack of fake cash, only one in 10 people knew about the gas plant scandal. “Now that’s one in two but that’s still 50% of the population who don’t know what I’m talking about,” he says.

He is surprised the Progressive Conservatives haven’t made more of the issue during the campaign — he says $1-billion would have paid for the hospital Vaughan has been coveting for the last decade.

Yet the gas plants have barely been mentioned by Tim Hudak, the PC leader, who has spent most of the campaign taking the high road.

At Numar Windows factory in Brampton Wednesday, he repeated his standard line that his pitch is about “hope, not spreading fear.”

He berated Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne for saying his plan would hurt children, and her team for running an ad that showed him laughing in front of an exploding hospital. “The Kathleen Wynne I used to know would never have stooped to those tactics to cling to power,” he said. “When you go over the top that much, it’s time to pack it in.”

That’s the reasonable, logical approach. If reason and logic dictate the winner, Mr. Hudak will be crowned premier Thursday night. But voluminous research suggests voters are neither reasonable nor logical.

Jonathan Haidt, the political psychologist author of The Righteous Mind, points out out that people are fundamentally intuitive, not rational. If you want to persuade them, you have to appeal to their emotions, he wrote. As 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume once put it, reason is fit only to be the “slave of passion.”

Handout/PC Party of Ontario$1-billion in fake bills in front of the now demolished Mississauga gas plant.

As such, Mr. Hudak may come to rue his high road campaign. Whispers coming from the Liberal camp suggest that Mr. Hudak’s post-debate momentum has stalled and a Grit minority is now the likely outcome. An Ipsos Reid poll late Wednesday said the election will be determined by which party motivates its supporters to get out and vote. But if the Liberals are returned, it would be a boost for the proponents of political hardball.

Ms. Wynne and her allies in the public sector unions have been adept at tapping into a lingering distrust of Mr. Hudak. The Tory leader has not retaliated. “Fear-mongering is the last refuge of the desperate politician. I’m going to appeal to our better instincts,” he said at a rally in Kitchener.

That may turn out to be noble but naïve. Of course the PCs needed to put something in the shop window for voters to buy. But doing so did not preclude Mr. Hudak from holding the Liberals to account for the most cynical and arrogant misuse of public funds since the sponsorship scandal.

In that case, Stephen Harper campaigned on his five point plan, including the GST cut, while demanding a political reckoning for the waste, mismanagement and corruption of the sponsorship debacle.

PC strategists say their research suggests voters don’t see a villain in the gas plant saga – and if they do, it’s not Kathleen Wynne. That’s probably because, until recently, only one in 10 people knew there was a scandal, far less how much it cost.

PC strategists say their research suggests voters don’t see a villain in the gas plant saga – and if they do, it’s not Kathleen Wynne. That’s probably because, until recently, only one in 10 people knew there was a scandal, far less how much it cost

Mr. Hudak’s team may also worry that their man campaigned against the construction of the gas plants. But, ultimately, it’s the party that made the decision to cancel the project, even as concrete was being poured in Mississauga, that must bear responsibility. The public trust was violated and voters are justified in taking their anger out on the sitting government.

If Mr. Hudak does fall short, the post-mortem will focus on the decision to go light on scandal. Momentum shifted in Mr. Hudak’s favour after the leaders’ debate in which he nailed Ms. Wynne for signing off on the gas plant cancellations as Liberal campaign co-chair in 2011.

Yet, he didn’t show up for the photo op at the gas plant site Wednesday — arguably a more productive use of his time in the last day of the campaign than stops in NDP-held ridings in Kitchener and Niagara Falls.

The sight of the Tory leader fulminating against the backdrop of the fake billion, and the final demolition of the Mississauga site, might have been enough to make more Ontarians the slaves of their passion and ensure they made it to the polls.

For the third straight year, a haunted house attraction in Ontario has released photos of its terrified patrons, much to the delight of the Schadenfreude section of the Internet. (I.e. all of it)

The Nightmares Fear Factory in Niagara Falls released the pictures of its most cowardly visitors, which includes grown men hiding behind their girlfriends and children, their faces caught in silent screams as they make their way through the 15-minute attraction.

More than 120,000 patrons have chickened out during the tour and had to be escorted out, according to its Nightmares website. (“Absolutely no refunds,” it adds under its frequently asked questions page. Pregnant women and those with heart conditions are told to stay away.)

The safeword, should you find yourself lacking courage, is “Nightmares.”

Visitors, who are led through near complete darkness by red lights on the floor, are subjected to a “mental and emotional experience” designed to prey on phobias, Nightmares Fear Factory says. While all visitors consent to being photographed by taking part in the experience, those featured by the haunted house on their website have signed a waiver to agree to the photos being posted for the rest of us to laugh at/with.

Embittered by reports that Toronto will get a sweeter deal on its casino than anywhere else in the province, Ontario mayors rose up in revolt Friday against the perceived favouritism of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

On Friday evening, Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne stepped in to calm the fury by disavowing the report, which was first published in the Globe and Mail.

“There will be no special deal for Toronto in connection with any proposed casino development,” she wrote in a statement.

The Globe’s Thursday report intimated that Toronto could expect to rake in fees “more than double those offered to other municipalities,” prompting an outpouring of criticism from communities with existing or planned casino projects.

Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press“There will be no special deal for Toronto in connection with any proposed casino development," ONtario Premier Kathleen Wynne wrote in a statement.

“I strongly disagree with the OLG’s suggestion that it is planning to introduce preferential revenue sharing for the City of Toronto that, by function, would discriminate against all other municipalities,” wrote Ottawa mayor Jim Watson in a letter to OLG chair Paul Godfrey, drafted in both French and English.

Mr. Watson added that he would push to kill plans for an Ottawa casino unless he could be assured the same deal as Toronto.

The sentiment was echoed in the gaming centre of Niagara Falls, where Mayor Jim Deodati told the Niagara Falls Review, “I think this is disingenuous. [OLG] brought us to the dance and I feel they’ve left us at the altar.

[OLG] brought us to the dance and I feel they’ve left us at the altar

Speaking to the Ottawa Citizen on Friday, OLG chief executive Rod Phillips disregarded all claims of Toronto bias, saying “the approach is going to be consistent.”

Toronto casino revenue would indeed dwarf that of Ontario’s five existing casinos, but only because Toronto’s casino will be much, much larger: Some initial concepts are forecasting a $4 billion, waterfront casino complex.

In the words of Premier Wynne, “the hosting fee for Toronto would reflect the size and scale that global gaming companies have confirmed is possible in the city.”

In January, Paul Godfrey, who is also the president and CEO of Postmedia Network, told a gathering of Toronto-area business leaders that the city could expect as much as $50-$100 million in hosting fees from a downtown casino.

By contrast, Niagara Falls receives about $3 million in fees for its two casinos. In Ottawa, where a casino has yet to be built, hosting fees were projected to be only $4 million.

Preferential or not, only in Windsor did local politicians seem to be on board with special treatment for Toronto. In the late 1990s, the border city struck a “favoured-nations” clause with the OLG that would boost their revenue share should another municipality get a better deal.

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — Niagara regional police say they are looking for a suspect after two young males were stabbed in Niagara Falls on New Year’s Eve.

Police say the two victims suffered multiple stab wounds in a fight with another young man at a small house party.

They were taken to hospital for treatment.

Police say the suspect fled on foot.

The victims are in stable condition in hospital.

Police want to hear from anyone with information.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-searching-for-suspects-after-two-stabbed-at-niagara-falls-new-years-party/feed0stdPolice on both sides of border ask for help identifying torso found in Niagara Riverhttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-on-both-sides-of-border-ask-for-help-identifying-torso-found-in-niagara-river
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-on-both-sides-of-border-ask-for-help-identifying-torso-found-in-niagara-river#commentsTue, 04 Sep 2012 19:37:57 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=209157

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — Police in Ontario and New York state are renewing a plea for the public’s assistance after a woman’s torso was found floating in the Niagara River last week.

Speaking at Niagara Regional Police headquarters in St. Catharines, Ont., Insp. Jim McCaffery says police have reviewed 50 missing person cases and the vast majority do not match the description of the dismembered victim.

The New York State police have also made efforts to do the same.

Post-mortem results indicate the torso belongs to a Caucasian woman between 31 and 55 years old. The woman had a pierced navel and two caesarean section scars.

Police say the torso had been in the water for four to 10 days before it was found by a passerby last Wednesday.

Investigators say this case is not connected to the slaying of a Toronto woman whose dismembered remains turned up last month in Mississauga and Toronto.

Related

Passersby alerted authorities on Wednesday afternoon after discovering the floating torso in the river near the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls.

The torso was taken to Hamilton General Hospital for an autopsy after it was recovered.

An emergency task unit, marine unit and the Niagara Parks Police high angle river team were being called on to search for the rest of the woman’s remains, McCaffery said.

The woman was the victim of a homicide, but McCaffery said police won’t release the cause of death until the autopsy results are complete.

McCaffery estimated the body was in the water anywhere from four to 10 days, but said it’s impossible to determine where exactly the body entered the river.

Police and forensic experts determined the torso is not related to the investigation in the Toronto-area involving the slaying of Guang Hua Liu.

Liu’s body parts — but not her torso — were found in mid-August west of Toronto in Mississauga and near her home in east-end Toronto.

Niagara police will be reviewing missing persons cases from other police departments, McCaffery said, adding his first priority is to identify the victim.

“It’s important to identify this person to bring closure to the family members,” he said.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-units-searching-for-other-remains-belonging-to-woman-whose-torso-found-in-niagara-river/feed0stdPolice in Ontario are trying to determine the identity of a woman whose torso was found in the lower Niagara River.Police recover headless torso from Niagara Riverhttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-recover-headless-torso-from-niagara-river
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-recover-headless-torso-from-niagara-river#commentsThu, 30 Aug 2012 23:24:20 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=208186

NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — Police say a woman’s torso has been recovered from the lower Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ont., near the Rainbow Bridge.

Passersby spotted the body — without a head or limbs — floating in the river and alerted authorities on Wednesday.

The torso was as sent to Hamilton General Hospital for an autopsy and police say it has been confirmed that the woman was the victim of a homicide.

Investigators and forensic experts say the torso is not related to the Peel police investigation involving the slaying of Toronto woman Guang Hua Liu.

Police say the woman was white, middle-aged, with a pierced navel and at least one caesarean section scar.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Niagara Regional Police.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/police-recover-headless-torso-from-niagara-river/feed0stdal-NiagaraFalls-03.JPGTeen was trying to get his life on track before fatal Niagara fall: youth workerhttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/teen-was-trying-to-establish-independence-find-a-job-before-fatal-niagara-fall-youth-worker
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/teen-was-trying-to-establish-independence-find-a-job-before-fatal-niagara-fall-youth-worker#commentsWed, 25 Jul 2012 23:19:45 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=197875

The man who died last night after a police chase ended in the suspect and the officer going over a retaining wall into the Niagara Gorge has been identified as Ryan Dube, 18, according to the Boys and Girls Club of Niagara.

JoAnne Turner, the executive director of the youth agency, said Mr. Dube had been staying at the agency’s group home on Ontario Ave., two blocks west of where the pair fell into the gorge, and that Victim Services Niagara had been at the home till 1:30 a.m. to provide grief counselling to the staff and youth at the home.

Related

The incident happened on River Rd. between Eastwood St. and Otter St. shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday when an officer with the Niagara Regional Police Service was chasing a suspect, according to a statement from Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit.

“A short time later, they both went over the gorge wall and into the Niagara gorge,” said the statement.

The SIU is a provincial arms-length agency that investigates incidents of death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault involving police. They have assigned seven investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances surrounding Mr. Dube’s death.

Ermanno Ceniccola / Courtesy MediaVice.comCrews work to rescue one of the victims from Tuesday's accident.

Mr. Dube’s body was recovered just before 9 p.m. Ms. Turner described him as a well-liked, good-natured and respectful individual.

“It was a shock. Very, very difficult to take. It was just so tragic,” said Ms. Turner. “He’ll be very sadly missed.”

She said Mr. Dube had left the group home with a friend around 5 p.m. on what had previously been an uneventful day for him.

“The friend had come back to the residence and said that a cruiser had stopped, and an officer was talking to him and he fled.”

Shortly after, staff at the home became very aware of the rescue efforts near them and became fearful that it was Mr. Dube who had gone over the wall. It wasn’t until much later in the evening that they got confirmation from another youth agency – listed as Mr. Dube’s next of kin – that it was indeed him at the bottom of the gorge.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUN40PgYG1g&w=620&h=349]

“The youth were very, very distraught to learn that it was him,” said Ms. Turner.

She said Mr. Dube was originally from the St. Catharines or Niagara region. It is not known if he was in touch with any family members, but the Boys and Girls Club is waiting to see if relatives will come forward to make funeral arrangements.

The deceased never had any issues of violence, although he sometimes had trouble making the 11 p.m. curfew, said Ms. Turner. Mr. Dube was trying to establish independence and had recently applied for several jobs.

They came running from a residence that was on River Rd. facing the gorge. They both crossed the street and jumped over

She added that the police officer may have apprehended him because he was on probation for an unknown matter and may have been violating the terms of his probation.

Mr. Dube had been staying on and off at the group home since November 2011. Ms. Turner did not know where he was living while not at the shelter.

The male officer in the incident suffered a broken femur, according to the SIU statement. He was rescued using a bucket that was lowered into the gorge and transported by air ambulance on a stretcher to Hamilton General Hospital, the nearest trauma centre.

Jennifer Tracey, spokeswoman for ORNGE, said the officer was in serious condition. He was first taken by land ambulance to a local park nearby where the air ambulance had landed. She said the ride to the hospital is about 10 to 15 minutes. The helicopter left the scene at about 7:50 p.m.

Niagara Police confirmed that the officer’s name is Constable Jacob Smits and that he underwent emergency surgery. They refused to comment on the incident or confirm any of the details. Spokesman Derek Watson said only that the SIU was investigating.

Ermanno Ceniccola, 43, lives just one street away from where the officer and the suspect fell. He is the owner of a local IT company MediaVice and was working from home when he heard a lot of sirens. He went over to check out the commotion. As he watched the rescue unfold, he spoke to other witnesses on the scene who told him the suspect was a man in his twenties living on River St.

“They came running from a residence that was on River Rd. facing the gorge. They both crossed the street and jumped over,” Mr. Ceniccola said. “He was pursuing the suspect but for some reason, and this is probably strange to most people around here, is why the officer would have jumped over the wall too knowing how dangerous it is there. It’s kind of a mystery.”

The youth were very, very distraught to learn that it was him

It is not known if the police officer and suspect actually jumped or fell over the wall.

Mr. Ceniccola said a police cruiser was parked in the driveway of the home where the suspect and the officer came running from. He said a neighbour told him the house “is known for trouble.”

This is the second time in about two months that ORNGE has had to transport someone from the gorge. On Victoria Day, a man was rescued after attempting suicide.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/teen-was-trying-to-establish-independence-find-a-job-before-fatal-niagara-fall-youth-worker/feed0stdA police officer after being lifted from the Niagara Gorge Tuesday evening. The officer and Ryan Dube, 18, plunged into the gorge after a chase. Dube later died.Crews work to rescue one of the victims from Tuesday's accident, which saw a police officer and a suspect plunge into Niagara Falls gorge.Suspect dead, police officer hospitalized after plunging into Niagara Falls gorgehttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/rescue-crews-on-scene-after-police-officer-suspect-fall-into-niagara-falls-gorge
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/rescue-crews-on-scene-after-police-officer-suspect-fall-into-niagara-falls-gorge#commentsTue, 24 Jul 2012 23:49:53 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=197379

A man is dead and a police officer has suffered a broken leg after a chase resulted in both the man and the officer falling over a retaining wall into the Niagara Gorge.

Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit released a statement saying a Niagara Regional Police Officer was chasing a man on River Rd. between Eastwood St. and Otter St. shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

“A short time later, they both went over the gorge wall and into the Niagara gorge,” said the statement.

Witnesses claim police were chasing a man when he jumped over a retaining wall.

The SIU is a provincial arms-length agency that investigates incidents of death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault involving police. They have assigned seven investigators and two forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of the incident.

The male police officer was rescued in a bucket that was lowered into the gorge — he is said to be in serious condition. The SIU statement said the officer sustained a broken femur.

The officer was transported by air ambulance to Hamilton General Hospital, the nearest trauma centre. Jennifer Tracey, spokeswoman for ORNGE, said he was first taken by land ambulance to a local park nearby where the air ambulance had landed. She said the ride to the hospital is about 10 to 15 minutes. The helicopter left the scene at about 7:50 p.m.

The body of the victim was recovered just before 9 p.m.

Niagara Police refuse to comment on the incident or confirm any of the details. Spokesman Derek Watson said only that the Special Investigations Unit is on the scene.

Ermanno Ceniccola / Courtesy MediaVice.com

Ermanno Ceniccola, 43, lives just one street away from where the officer and the suspect fell. He is the owner of a local IT company MediaVice and was working from home when he heard a lot of sirens. He went over to check out the commotion. As he watched the rescue unfold, he spoke to other witnesses on the scene who told him the suspect was a man in his twenties living on River St.

“They came running from a residence that was on River Rd. facing the gorge. They both crossed the street and jumped over,” Mr. Ceniccola said. “He was pursuing the suspect but for some reason, and this is probably strange to most people around here, is why the officer would have jumped over the wall too knowing how dangerous it is there. It’s kind of a mystery.”

It is not known if the police officer and suspect actually jumped or fell over the wall.

Mr. Ceniccola said a police cruiser was parked in the driveway of the home where the suspect and the officer came running from. He said a neighbour told him the house “is known for trouble,” and may have recently opened as a group home for troubled teens.

This is the second time in about two months that ORNGE has had to rescue someone from the gorge. On Victoria Day, a man was rescued after attempting suicide.

Emerging out of a cloud of mist, Nik Wallenda ran the last few steps to become the first man in more than a century to cross Niagara Falls on a high wire and singlehandedly bring the Wallenda name back into the public consciousness.

And he made the promise that his next stunt will be crossing the Grand Canyon.

“Hundreds of millions, if not a billion people, will know who Nik Wallenda is tomorrow morning, that’s kind of crazy,” said Mr. Wallenda in a post-walk press conference conducted after he called his grandmother, which he had promised to do immediately upon completing the feat.

Soaked by the mist and jostled about by wind from the cascades, the wire walker said the hardest part was keeping his bearings. “If I looked down at the cable, there was water moving everywhere, if I looked up, there was heavy mist blowing in my face.”

Although the 45-minute walk was mostly free of theatrics, thirty meters from the finish, he bent down on one knee. As spectators gasped, suspecting he had fallen, he raised a fist in triumph. The crowd chanted his name cheered as he closed the final distance, moving past the lights, cranes and news vans of what had become a multi-million dollar operation. “Welcome to Canada, Nik!” screamed a spectator.

(Peter J. Thompson/National Post)Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks across Niagara Falls from Buffalo, New York to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Friday evening June 15, 2012. It has been the seventh generation Wallenda family daredevils dream to make the historic walk.

When asked what was next Mr. Wallenda casually mentioned that his next crossing would be even larger, the Grand Canyon. And the wait probably won’t be nearly as long as the one for his Falls crossing as he already has the permits to cross the Grand Canyon.

From the Canadian side, the early stages of the walk were almost completely obscured by mist from the falls. The crowd of 105,000, which is the largest in Niagara Falls in recent memory, cheered whenever someone caught a brief glimpse of Mr. Wallenda, clad in a bright red shirt.

Mr. Wallenda said he could not hear the cheers until the very end, but he could identify the massive crowd from the constant camera flashes.

Thousands of iPhones, iPads and video cameras were hoisted over heads to capture the walk, although most spectators would go home with photos of a tiny red dot in a white mist. Still, for most of the spectators, it was a chance to see what many described as a ”once in a lifetime opportunity.”

REUTERS/Mark BlinchTightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the U.S. side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, June 15, 2012

“I want to see history being made, the Wallenda name being brought back to the forefront,” said a Toronto man in a lawn chair before the walk, smoking a cigar.

In a city renowned for its tackiness, the massive crowd lining the Canadian side for the event was surprisingly wholesome: Indian grandmothers dressed in saris, young mothers pushing strollers and Mennonite families, all earnestly hoping to see the 33-year-old daredevil succeed.

“It’s not a nice sight seeing somebody falling to their death,” said spectator Sam Seepersad, from Toronto.

A section of fence which would have been visible to Mr. Wallenda after completing his walk was decorated with a bedsheet spray-painted with the words “You made it, Nik.” “It’s a congratulations, to let him know we care,” said Harvey Watters from Hamilton, Ont., the banner’s creator.

Mr. Wallenda is the seventh-generation of the Wallenda family of circus artists, and has been schooled in the family business since he was two years old. Plenty in his family have been killed or maimed by the profession, including most recently his grandfather Karl, who in 1978, tumbled to his death in front of TV cameras.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank GunnCrowds push forward to get a look at Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Friday, June 15, 2012

“I was 14 years old when Karl fell,” said Michael Hills, a self-described daredevil fan from Southampton, Ont. His blanket on the Niagara lawn was outfitted with a handmade poster featuring a quote from the fallen Wallenda patriarch, “being on a tightrope is living; everything else is waiting.”

Technically speaking, Mr. Wallenda is a “wire walker,” not a “tightrope walker.” The wire is anything but tight. Even before he took his first steps, the cable could be seen swaying in the breeze. And, like anything else near Niagara Falls, it was slick from the perpetual mist.

Niagara Falls is downriver from a hydroelectric facility and according to one spectator, “they’re carefully controlling the flow so the mist doesn’t bother [Mr. Wallenda].”

Hotel rates have skyrocketed for the occasion and the Niagara Parks Commission has bumped parking from $10 to $40. A Coca-Cola is $2.50, a bottle of water is $3, and there is not a drinking fountain in sight.

Of course, Mr. Wallenda was made to make the crossing with a piece of equipment unthinkable to his 19th century predecessors: A safety harness, demanded by broadcaster ABC. Although Mr. Wallenda had promised to keep it on, most spectators assumed — or hoped — he would tear it off.

John Moore/Getty ImagesA high wire stretches over Niagara Falls into Canada from Niagara Falls.

“It kind of takes away from what he does for a living,” said spectator Judy Watters. “What are they going to do? Go out into the middle of the wire and arrest him?” said another.

“He should tear it off, it’s way more badass to walk across without a harness,” said Dustin Rivait, a professional poker player from St. Catharines, Ont. Mr. Rivait knows risk – only steps from the Falls he has seen $13,000 disappear in a matter of hours. “I can appreciate risk, I am definitely one that likes to walk a thin line, but nothing like this,” he said. “Some things are just in your blood.”

Below, rescue crews were on full alert in expectation that Mr. Wallenda would detach his harness and then tumble into the river. Nevertheless, Mr. Wallenda did the entire stunt with the tiny tether just a few meters behind him – although he said it nagged at him. “I was very nervous about it, every time I crossed over a [stabilizer] pendulum, it was on my mind,” he said.

Reportedly, Niagara Parks officials were wary bringing a wirewalker back to Niagara Falls fearing it could resurrect the days when amateur daredevils were routinely getting themselves killed, injured or trapped in illegal stunts off the waterway.

In 1995, a man zoomed off the falls in a jet ski, with the hare-brained plan that he would jump off, deploy a parachute and glide safely into the river below. The chute did not deploy, and a “loud bang” was the last bystanders heard of him.

Nevertheless, Niagara Falls’ adventurer past still looms large in local lore. Local motel rooms are decorated with grainy black and white photos of adventurers. Three years ago, a “Daredevil Exhibit” opened next to the city’s IMAX theatre with a collection of the various barrels, metal cylinders and reinforced boats that have taken daredevils over the falls or through the adjacent whirlpool. Two of the craft, a red, white and blue barrel and a jury-rigged collection of inner tubes, killed their occupants.

“One misstep of the foolhardy adventurer would have hurled him from his precarious footing and he would have disappeared from mortal eyes, until his mangled body could be picked up from below,” says a recorded voice at the museum’s wire walker exhibit.

An estimated one billion television viewers saw Mr. Wallenda’s walk, which was held after dark in order to make it as accessible to a global audience as possible. It was also one of the first international news stories out of Canada in several weeks not involving a dismemberment or murder.

“He’s a guy with a stick and he got the world’s attention,” said Wayne, at The Drink Shop, just off the city’s main drag.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/nik-wallenda-conquers-niagara-falls-is-the-grand-canyon-next/feed9stdNik WallendaimageTightrope walker Nik Wallenda walks the high wire from the U.S. side to the Canadian side over the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario, June 15, 2012Crowds push forward to get a look at Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont., on Friday, June 15, 2012wallenda-falls-niagara-tigh